Dispensers



June 19, 1956 L. v. LOCKE 2,751,129

DISPENSERS Filed March 20, 1955 INVENTOR.

LOYAL V. LOGKE ATTORNEYS DISPENSERS Loyal V. Locke, Delphos, Ohio, assignor to The Huffman Manufacturing Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application Nlarch 20, 1953, Serial No. 343,645

Claims. (Cl. 222474) This invention relates to liquid dispensers of the type commonly used for fluids such as oil and antifreeze in garages, service stations and the like.

The invention has special relation to dispensing devices of the general type illustrated by Vahle 2,067,554 and Hall et al. 2,303,690 issued January 12, 1937, and December 1, 1942, respectively to the assignee of this application. In such dispensing devices, the casing which receives the liquid contents for dispensing is provided with a valved discharge outlet having a flexible or hinged delivery spout therebelow for insertion in the fill spout of the automobile engine, radiator or the like. The present invention is especially directed to the provision of a dispensing device of this general type which is of simplified overall construction facilitating fabrication thereof at economical cost and which is also considerably more rugged than devices of this character previously available in the art as well as simpler to use and maintain and more positive in operation.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a liquid dispensing device of the above type embodying a valve for closing the discharge outlet which is composed of a small number of parts for economical manufacture, which incorporates a spring serving both to mount the valve for operation and to bias the valve normally to closed position, which is responsive to a simple upward pull to open the discharge outlet, and which closes automatically when the opening force thereon is released.

An additional object is to provide such a dispensing device in which the valve controlling the discharge outlet is carried by a single leaf spring which is riveted or otherwise directly secured to the bottom of the device in such manner as to bias the valve to closed position while being readily responsive to an upward pull to lift the valve away from the outlet to its open position, and in which this spring serves as the sole mounting and guiding force for the valve in addition to its biasing action.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a dispensing device of the above type in which the valve controlling the discharge outlet is operated by a simple toggle mechanism mounted on the side wall of the casing in such manner as to exert an upward pull on the valve against its biasing spring as the toggle straightens, and especially to provide such a device which also incorporates a flexible delivery spout connected with its discharge outlet and in which a retaining member for the outer end of the spout is mounted on the upward end of the device in such manner as to effect automatic shifting of the toggle mechanism in the direction to close the valve upon movement of the spout into retained relation therewith.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a view in vertical section showing a dispensing 2,751,129 Patented June 19, 1956 ice device constructed in accordance with the invention, the view being in section on the line 1--1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view looking from left to right in Fig. 1 and partly broken away to illustrate the construction and operation of the operating mechanism for the valve;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device of Figs. 1 and 2 which also illustrates the operation of the mechanism for automatically closing the valve;

Fig. 4 is a detail view in section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 5 showing a modified construction of the valve member in the device of Figs. 1-3; and

Fig. 5 is a top view of the valve of Fig. 4, partly broken away.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention, the illustrated dispensing device is of the type commonly used in filling stations for directly dispensing the contents of a filled can such as a can of oil. The casing 10 is accordingly of cylindrical configuration and of a size suitable for receiving a can of the desired capacity, and a knife 11 is mounted on the front interior wall of the casing for opening the can as the latter is forced downwardly into the casing. A curved guide plate 12 is welded on the opposite wall of the casing to guide the can into proper operating relation with the knife 11, and the usual carrying handle 13 is secured to the back of the casing.

The bottom of the casing 10 is formed by a plate 15 soldered within the casing in forwardly tilted position above the bottom end of the casing, the casing wall being provided with an internal bead 16 for locating the bottom 15 in proper position. The discharge opening 2t) for the contents of the unit is formed in the bottom 15 at the front of the casing. Fig. 1 shows the device as having an elbow 21 secured to the bottom 15 below discharge opening 20, and a flexible spout 22 having a rigid end 23 is secured to the forward end of this elbow for direct connection to the fill spout of the automobile engine. The discharge outlet 20 may if desired alternatively be provided with a hinged rigid spout, which may be constructed as shown in the above noted Vahle patent.

The valve controlling the discharge outlet 20 is shown in Fig. l as a disk 25 of leather or other suitable material provided with a pair of reinforcing washers 26 and 27 and secured by a rivet 28 to a leaf spring 30 mounted as by means of a pair of rivets 31 on the bottom plate 15 of the casing. The spring 30 has flattened end portions and a curved central portion, and it is proportioned to exert the proper downward biasing force on valve 25 to maintain it normally in its closed position covering outlet 20. The curved central portion of this spring, however, is readily deflected upwardly to permit the valve to be opened for discharge of the contents of the casing, and the forward end of spring 30 is turned upwardly to form a flange 32 adapted for connection to one end of a rod 33 forming an operating link for thus raising the spring to open the valve. Figs. 4 and 5 show an alternative construction of valve comprising a metal disk 35 provided with a plastic coating 36 and having an angle bracket 37 welded to its upper surface and extending through a slot in the end of spring 30 for attachment to the rod 33.

The operating mechanism for the valve is carried by the guide plate 12 within the casing. A lever 40 is pivoted by a rivet 41 on a recessed portion of this. guide plate, and it includes a portion 42 formed at right angles to the lower portion of the lever and extending above the upper end of the casing wall. A link 44 is pivoted to lever 40 by a rivet 45 at a position offset from the rivet 41, and the lower end of this link 44 is turned to form a flange 46 projecting through an inwardly formed plate 12 and the adjacent wall of the casing, being guided in its upward and downward movement by the engagement of flange 46 in slot 47, and it cooperates with lever 40 to form a toggle mechanism. The rod 33 is connected to the flange l6 and thus forms the connect ing link between this toggle mechanism and the valve 45 for connection with this valve. Thus as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, when the toggle mechanism is broken by movement of the lever 40 to its lower position, the valve is closed by operation of spring 38, but when lever 40 is rotated in the direction to straighten the toggle linkage, link 44 is raised and thus pulls the valve through link 33 and against spring 30 to its open position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Also, the pivot 45 is so located with respect to pivot 41 that lever 40 is permitted suliicient over-center movement to cause the toggle linkage to be locked in the open position of the valve by the biasing force of spring 30.

Means are provided for both retaining the spout 22 in its normal inoperative position and for automatically effecting closing of the valve when the spout is returned to this position after use. A rod 50 is curved to generally semi-cylindrical form and is mounted on the upper end of casing between the overturned bead 51 and a plurality of retaining brackets 52. At the forward end of this rod 56 is a loop or hook 55 proportioned for resiliently gripping the rigid end 23 of spout 22. The opposite end of rod 50 is bent to form an upwardly inclined cam 56 which is adapted for engagement with the beveled edge 57 of the lever portion 42 when lever 40 is in its straightened position opening valve 25.

Figs. 2 and 3 show in dotted lines the position of rod 50 while the valve is open for dispensing of its contents. After such contents have been completely dispensed, the operator will normally raise the spout 22 and swing its rigid end 23 back into the retaining loop or hook 55. This movement of the spout into the hook will cause movement of the rod 50 around the casing wall to its position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 and as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. Such movement of rod 50 will cause its cam portion 56 to engage the beveled edge 57 of lever portion 42 and thus raise the lever sufiiciently for the pivot 45 again to pass over-center with respect to pivot 41. As soon as this relatively small movement of the lever has taken place, spring 30 will act to snap the lever to its lower position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby automatically rcclosing re valve. It the unit is equipped with a hinged rigid spout as noted above, it may be provided with a valve closing mechanism of the type shown in the above Hall patent.

It will accordingly be seen that this invention provides a dispensing device having multiple advantages from the standpoint of both the manufacturer and user. Each unit is composed of relatively few parts, and these parts individually are similar in form as well as easy to assemble. Thus the spring 30 serves not only to bias the valve to its closed position but also to mount the valve as well as to guide its operating movements. As a result, no special alignment of these parts is required, since if the holes for the discharge outlet and the rivets 31 are initially provided with the aid of suitable jigs, the correct alignment of the valve and spring in the casing is automatically assured. The parts of the valve-operating mechanism are similarly of simple form, correspondingly reducing both the time and the equipment required for fabrication and assembly.

These advantages of simple and rugged construction carry over to the use of the dispensing units of the invention. With the spring 30 located and operating as described, positive closing of the valve is always assured, especially since the spring acts directly on the valve and not through other connecting parts. The combined valvecloser and spout-retainer for a flexible spout is similarly advantageous for the user, since it assures that the valve will always be closed when the spout is in its raised and inoperative position. In addition, the overall simplicity of the device is of material aid in maintenance, especially from the standpoint of the ease with which each unit can be cleaned.

Reference is made to my copending application Serial No. 411,938, filed February 23, 1954, as a continuationin-part of this application.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be from within said casing, a leaf spring having a pair of substantially fiat end portions connected by an upwardly bowed intermediate portion, means securing one said fiat portion of said spring to said valve, means mountw ing the other said fiat portion on said casing bottom with said intermediate portion under tension'to bias said valve to the closed position thereof, operating means for said valve mounted on an upper portion of said casing and including an operating handle operable from outside said casing, and means connecting said valve with said operating means for upward pulling movement against said spring to open said discharge opening, said mounting means for said spring including means securing said spring against angular movement on said bottom to maintain said valve in operating alignment with said discharge opening and thereby constituting with said spring the only means for guiding the movements of said valve.

2. A liquid dispenser of the character described comprising a casing adapted to receive liquid contents for dispensing, a carrying handle on said casing adjacent the upper end thereof, said casing including a bottom having a discharge opening therein located adjacent the opposite side of said casing from said handle and pro vided with spout means therebelow, a valve adapted to close said discharge opening from within said casing, a leaf spring secured at one end to said valve and extending generally diagonally of said casing from said discharge opening toward said handle, said spring including a flat portion at the other end thereof from said valve and an upwardly bowed intermediate portion, means securing said flat end of said spring to'said bottom with said intermediate portion of said spring under tension biasing said valve to the closed position thereof, operating means for said valve mounted in the upper part of said casing and including an operating handle adjacentv said carrying handle, means connecting said valve with said operating handle for upward pulling movement against said spring to open said discharge opening, and means cooperating with said operating handle in response to the movement of said handle to its valve opening position for locking said operating means in said open position of said valve.

3. A liquid dispenser of the character described comprising a casing adapted to receive liquid contents for dispensing, said casing including a bottom having a discharge opening therein provided with spout means therebelow, a valve adapted to close said discharge opening from within said casing, a leaf spring secured at one end to said valve, said spring including a flat portion at the other end thereof from said valve and aunt)- wardly bowed intermediate portion, means securing said flat end of said spring to said bottom with said intermediate portion of said spring under tension biasing said valve to the closed position thereof, an operating lever for said valve having a pivotal mounting on said casing and extending above said casing for pivotal movement di l between upper and lower positions, and means connecting said valve with said operating lever at a point spaced from said pivotal mounting to provide for upward pull ing movement of said valve against said spring to open said discharge opening in response to pivotal movement of said lever to said upper position thereof, said pivotal mounting for said lever being located in offset relation with said connecting means between said lever and said valve to provide for limited over-center movement of said lever beyond said upper position to lock said valve in the resulting open position thereof.

4. A liquid dispenser of the character described comprising a casing adapted to receive liquid contents for dispensing, said casing including a bottom having a discharge opening therein provided with spout means there below, a valve adapted to close said discharge opening from within said casing, a leaf spring secured at one end to said valve and including a fiat portion at the other end thereof and an upwardly bowed intermediate portion, means securing said fiat spring portion to said casing bottom with said intermediate portion of said spring under tension to bias said valve to the closed position thereof, an operating lever for said valve having a pivotal mounting on said casing and extending above said casing for pivotal movement between upper and lower positions, a link pivoted at its upper end to said lever at a point spaced from said pivotal mounting, means guiding the lower end of said lever for up and down movement in response to pivotal movement of said lever to said upper and lower positions thereof respectively, and a second link connecting said valve with said first link for upward pulling movement of said valve against said spring to open said discharge opening in response to upward movement of said first link, said pivotal mounting for said lever being oifset from the pivot between said first link and said lever to provide for limited overcenter movement of said lever beyond said upper position to lock said valve in the resulting open position thereof.

5. A liquid dispenser of the character described comprising a casing adapted to receive liquid contents for dispensing, said casing including a bottom plate having a discharge opening therein provided with spout means therebelow, a valve adapted to close said discharge opening from within said casing, a leaf spring secured at one end to said valve and extending generally diagonally of said casing from said discharge opening, means mounting the other end of said spring on said bottom plate with said spring biasing said valve to the closed position thereof, a plate secured in the upper part of said casing opposite said valve and in radially spaced relation with the wall of said casing to define therewith a space, a link located within said space, said plate having a vertical slot in a lower portion thereof, said link having a projection thereon extending through said slot in guided relation therewith, a second link connecting said projection with said valve for upward pulling movement of said valve against said spring to open said discharge opening in response to upward movement of said link, and an operating handle carried by the upper end of said casing and connected with the upper end of said first link for effecting upward and downward movement or" said link and resulting operation of said valve, said mounting means for said spring including means securing said spring against angular movement on said bottom to maintain said valve in operating alignment with said discharge opening and thereby constituting with said spring the only means for guiding the movements of said valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,195,102 Schmidt Aug. 15, 1916 1,946,978 Lien Feb. 13, 1934 2,067,554 Vahle Jan. 12, 1937 2,303,690 Hall et al Dec. 1, 1942 

